Subtheme: Exploring corporate owners and evictions
Overall Analysis Questions
- How is the amount of corporate ownership changing in Boston? My parents own a home in Cambridge that they bought 35+ years ago. My dad is a high school teacher and my mom runs a non profit. Had they moved there more recently, they would have no ability to buy a home in the same area. I really like living in Boston, and I'm curious if I can work the job I like or if I have to prioritize income to be able to afford a home.
- Does a rise in corporate ownership correspond with a drop in owner occupied property rates? I lived in Central Square for a year before moving to MIT. My landlord was able to respond quickly to my requests because he lived upstairs from me. Having a physical presence meant that he could not ignore me, and he cared who he was taking into his house, so I could trust that I'd have good housemates. I'm curious if there is any causal relationship between corporate ownership rates and owner occupancy rates, because if this is the case, having disincentives to corporate ownership of properties could make some sense.
- How does Boston being filled with colleges affect corporate ownership and owner occupied rates? Boston is notoriously driven by the student population. Even the housing contract dates are almost completely aligned to the school schedule, causing an almost city-wide moving day every year as college is starting. I know many college students and graduates who have ended up disliking their corporate landlords. However, these students often don't have as much of a choice, as price is the primary consideration. Are corporate owners targeting college students, knowing that they will be able to survive some bad situations for the benefit of cheaper rent. They are also only there for the school year, so they can raise prices on their properties more easily.
Discoveries & Insights
Summary
The city of Boston has seen a huge growth in corporate ownership and drop in owner occupancy rates. Neighborhoods with college students have felt these affects more significantly than neighborhoods without students. We can't tell from the data if the students cause the neighborhood to change in this way, or if these changes affect the students decision to live there, or if it is simply a correlation with what kinds of areas students look for. It also doesn't necessarily seem that the changes in corporate ownership can be directly tied to changes in owner occupancy in a neighborhood. This suggests that there is another classification of properties that properties are moving between. It would also be interesting to look at the total number of properties and the year to year changes in number of properties, because neighborhoods like seaport might be better described by this than by the rates, due to large amounts of development of new corporately owned properties. One follow up question that arises from this data analysis is how does evictions relate to this change from owner occupancy to corporate ownership? Who is being evicted? Additionally, it may be useful to know property values and income levels to compose a more economics based analysis of the change in home ownership. Further, what is the way that someone becomes and owner occupier of a property? How is the route to this ability changing? Who is able to own and occupy a house?